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Thursday, December 1, 2016

Setting Bible Reading Goals

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

With a new year quickly approaching, it may be time to reevaluate your Bible reading plan. Hopefully you are already opening your Bible every day, but are you keeping track of what you read? People who don’t log their Bible reading don’t end up reading as much as those who systematically check off books of the Bible as they read them.

Most Christians have never even read through the Bible one time, so if you’ve done that, you are ahead of the curve. That said, don’t become complacent after having accomplished that feat. The Bible is an infinite book, so you will glean more truths each time you read it. Not only that, but you will quickly forget a lot of what you’ve read, which is why reading through the Bible every year is so important. Don’t be slothful in your Bible reading or your knowledge will start to decay.

“By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10:18

If you’re a layman in the church, and you’re reading through the Bible one time annually, that’s great, but 15 or 20 minutes a day is not going to make you an expert or prepare you to pastor a church. These guys that open their mouth and scripture just flows out have worked hard to get to that point. If you want to avoid doctrinal error and be ready to answer the hard questions, you will need to spend more time in the Word.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

If you are preparing to be ordained at Faithful Word Baptist Church, you had better take your training seriously. We need to start more churches, but I’m looking for preachers who have already read the Bible ten times cover to cover. Think of a pastor as a spiritual lawyer who interprets the law of God and a doctor who helps people get the sin sickness out of their lives. How many hours do you think people read every day when they are studying to become doctors and lawyers? Pastoring a church is a much greater responsibility because of the eternal impact preachers have on people’s lives.

“See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10

In any area of life, you reap what you sow, and Bible reading is no different. The more time you spend reading, the more knowledge you will obtain. They say it takes at least 21 days to form a habit, so now is the perfect time to establish a Bible reading routine that will prepare you to achieve your spiritual goals for 2017.